Title: Co-Creation of a Culturally-Relevant Approach to Examining Movement Through Story and Storytelling in Indigenous Communities
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Shannon Bredin
Committee members: Dr. Moss Norman, Dr. Rosalin Miles
Chair: Dr. Janice Forsyth
Abstract: Background: Culturally relevant ways to realize the capacity for learning through story are important areas of research within Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities are recognizing and fulfilling their sovereignty by returning to their community-specific practices and discarding approaches to thinking that are rooted in colonial structures. Within motor learning, there is a lack of literature from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. Connecting story to movement not only expands Indigenous knowledge on motor skill and movement learning, but is a culturally safe approach. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine story and storytelling in motor skill and movement-related learning through a community-based and Indigenous-led research effort using culturally relevant approaches to research. Methods: Three sharing circles were conducted with Indigenous community members (n=5). In the first sharing circle, participants discussed topics related to sharing story through movement. In the second sharing circle, participants focused their conversation on expression and the storyteller story-listener relationship. In the third sharing circle, participants verified synthesis of the data from the first two sharing circles. Sharing circles were analyzed using a modified approach to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis methodology. Results: Data analysis revealed five themes (referred to as Storytelling strategies) for movement learning: expression, retention through movement, feedback, retention through reflection/relationship, and story and movement. From this data, a Storytelling and Movement model was developed. Discussion: The findings demonstrate a unique process for movement learning that is based on story and storytelling. The storyteller not only moves to tell a story, but through the story, the story-listener learns about movement. Five strategies emerged that dynamically interact with this process. Further, the importance of the relationship between the storyteller and the story-listener was emphasized, as well factors such as age, lived experience, and community. Conclusion: The Storytelling and Movement Model represents an approach that includes both story and storytelling traditions for learning movement. It includes elements that are shared between Western and Indigenous traditions as well as ideas specific to Indigenous knowledge systems. This proposed model is unique to the literature and provides an opportunity to further examine Indigenous ways of knowing through the storytelling tradition in motor learning.